The Roots of the SeeD
by Ssnakey-B
Summary: Linoa, Ellone and Squall are experimenting to help Linoa control her powers over time better. Things don't go as expected and Squall ends up 20 years back in time... in Winhill. Made for the 2017 Successor Challenge.
1. Chapter 1

The excitement was palpable in the room of the Estharian presidential palace. Squall, Ellone and Linoa were all here for a special occasion.

"Alright, are you guys ready to do this?" asked Ellone with an eager smile.

"Yes!" Linoa answered excitedly. "Healing magic and teleportation are nice and all, but it's good to finally be doing something a bit more sexy!"

She had recently decided to try and learn to use the time manipulation powers she inherited from Ultimecia. And while she tried to make it look like she merely wanted to do it out of curiosity, Squall knew better. For her, being able to control Ultimecia's powers would prove that she is stronger than them and wont let them take her over. It had been a year since they defeated the sorceress and Linoa felt ready to face her powers. This is why, as her knight, and as her man, he enthusiastically agreed to be her test subject.

They decided to go ask Ellone for help, as she also had time travel powers, albeit limited ones. They were hoping that Ellone's ability to send one's consciousness into the past would make it easier for Linoa to tap into her own powers, or if nothing else, that experiencing time travel first hand would make her more familiar with it and help her understand the core mechanics of her abilities. The fact that it gave Squall an opportunity to spend more time with his adoptive sister was the icing on the cake.

"You too, Squall?" Ellone inquired.

"Yeah," Squall replied with a nod.

He felt like he should probably add something, but nothing came to mind. Embellishing phrases wasn't his strong suit at the best of times, and right now he was too tense to think of anything. Not that he didn't trust Linoa, but it was all so new and unknown to him.

"Good. Then please lie down," Ellone instructed, motioning towards three beds that had been set up in the room. Squall and Linoa each took adjacent ones and Ellone took the remaining one.

"So... it doesn't hurt, right?" Linoa asked anxiously. Unlike Squall, she had never been through one of Ellone's "connections".

"Nope." Ellone answered. "Well, unless you fall on something when you lose consciousness, and that's why we have the beds."

"Your head might ring a little but no, it's not painful at all," Squall reassured her. Linoa turned her head towards him with a smile, appreciating his concern and his dedication. He smiled back at her with what he was trying very hard to make a reassuring look. Ellone continued.

"Normally, only the person whose consciousness I'm sending back in time falls asleep but this time, I'm gonna use as much of my power as possible to make sure the connection is strong so Squall, you're going to be sleeping as well."

"Okay," said Squall as if there was nothing odd about this situation at all.

"I'll be here with you, Linoa, so don't worry, you won't be on your own inside my brother's mind," Ellone added. I can only imagine how terrifying that would be." Squall grunted slightly, trying to at least pretend his sister's teasing annoyed him. "But in all seriousness, I hope we can test your abilities by having you make a slight change to the past. I will be watching, so try not to make my little brother do anything embarrassing."

Linoa chuckled and started to relax. "Alright, sounds good to me. Ready when you are," she said. Ellone spoke again, with a more serious tone.

"I will only be taking us a few minutes back. That way I can ensure that whatever changes we make are very minor. Now, at the count of three, I will begin. One... two... three!"

Squall felt the ringing that indicated the connection was beginning. He was familiar with it. There was almost something comforting about it now. Maybe it was just the thought that it meant Ellone was with him in some way. As he pondered this, he closed his eyes and drifted into sleep.

When he woke up, he was about to ask the girls how the experiment went, but something was wrong. The bed felt different, smaller, and as he opened his eyes, he had the impression that the room wasn't how he last saw it. As his eyes focused and the fog cleared from his mind, he got the confirmation of what he feared: he was in a compeltely different place.

The ceiling above his head was at an angle and fitted with glass windows, decorated with elaborate designs. He could also see tapestries decorating the walls. A thousand questions ran through his mind. Where was he? How did he get here? How long had he been there? And most importantly, were Linoa and Ellone safe?

Squall knew that nothing constructive would arise from wondering so many aimless questions. His SeeD training kicked in. The first thing to do when stranded in unknown territory was to scan the immediate surroundings for any useful information. He sat up, seeing that he was indeed still in a bed, albeit one of a completely different design from the one he was lying in just seconds before. Well, it felt like seconds but he presumed it must have been longer.

He looked around and saw a simple yet cosy interior. The house was old-fashioned, with wooden beams, a bookshelf and cupboard surrounding a large window. Decorative plates adorned the wall. A light blue felt couch was in the middle of the room, with two striped antique armchairs beside it. Right next to the bed was another one, identical to the one he was sitting on, and between the two, a wooden nightstand. Against the wall was a small table on which a large potted plant was standing. In fact, the whole room was decorated with plants. Finally, he saw a staircase leading downstairs to the far right corner of the room from where he was sitting.

None of that told him much about where he was or what happened, but he had a feeling he was nowhere near Esthar. The style was the polar opposite of Esthar's flamboyant look and advanced technology. Another thought crossed Squall's mind:

"Am I even myself right now? After all, Ellone said she was using her powers differently from usual. Maybe I got connected as well by mistake."

This idea relaxed him a little as, if it was accurate, then it presumably meant that Linoa and Ellone were still performing their experiment and he just had to wait it out. He decided to verify his theory by looking at his own body. His hopes were dashed almost immediately as he saw that he was wearing the same clothes as he did when he fell asleep, and the hands he saw before him looked like his own and wore the fingerless gloves he had decided on that morning. One last test settled the matter as he ran a finger over his forehead and the ridge of his nose and felt the rift in his skin where his scar was.

"Okay, so this is my body and I am almost certainly not in Esthar any more" Squall thought to himself, trying to stay calm and rational. "Something must have gone wrong, and I was teleported."

This seemed logical as Linoa had been training here teleporting skills a lot lately. The thought suddenly made his skin crawl. If Linoa teleported him by accident, who's to say she hadn't lost control of her powers entirely? This was the exact kind of scenario he was supposed to prevent as her knight!

"Calm down, Squall," he told himself. "Panicking will only make things worse. You can't even be sure that's what happened. Focus. First things first, I have to figure out where I am and how to find Linoa and Ellone."

He considered waiting for the house's owner to come in, but he decided against it as he had no time to waste. Squall also thought that if his teleportation theory was correct, there was a chance that the owner didn't know he was there and might think he broke in. Or if it was the owner who brought him in here, they may intentionally refrain from entering the room in order to let Squall rest, in which case it would actually help to let them know he woke up.

As Squall walked towards the stairs, he stopped for a second as the place started to feel familiar, although he was sure he had never been there before. Maybe he had and the Guardian Forces had made him forget, but it seemed unlikely. The memory loss only seemed to affect his early childhood up to that point and he had avoided junctioning them as much as he could since the end of the Second Sorceress War.

He walked down the stairs and through a green door. There were a few more steps and once he was all the way down, he saw that he was in a pub, which looked as quaint as the room he woke up in. There were wooden tables, each one decorated with a candle. Barrels were stocked under the staircase. The stone floor gave the room a rustic yet welcoming feel, as did the brick wall. Squall was impressed with how clean the place was. The few bars he'd been to, despite being much more modern, were usually somewhat dirty and grimy, but this one was impeccable. And once again, Squall couldn't shake off the feeling that he knew this place somehow.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Squall called. He hoped that announcing his presence would show that he was, in fact, not here to rob the place. He waited a moment and obtained no response. The place being so small, there was no chance that anyone in there at the moment wouldn't have heard him. He decided to leave, hoping the owner hadn't locked the door behind them.

He pushed the door and it opened with ease, letting the outside light in. He exited the building and was now standing in a large paved square. All of the buildings had that same old-timey look and were covered with flowers and vines. Linoa would love it, he thought. Some kids were playing around and two old ladies had stopped their conversation to stare at the young man who had just come out of the pub. To his left stood a massive mansion, which looked like a lord's castle compared to the humble houses around it, and to his right was a bridge over a river. He now realised why this place felt so familiar and he grabbed his head with one hand as it sunk in.

"What the Hell am I doing in Winhill?!"

Squall's eyes widened as he kept looking around. He had never been there in person before but he knew it from his time spent in Laguna's mind. He had actually considered visiting it after learning of his parentage, if only because it would make Ellone happy, but this was not how he envisioned his first trip there.

While Squall was trying to recover from the shock of being at the furthest possible point on Earth from where he was supposed to be, a moustachioed middle-aged man approached him with concern.

"Sir, are you alright? Can I help you?"

That snapped Squall out of it. He pulled his hand away from his head, straightened his posture and tried to speak as calmly as possible.

"Er, yes, actually. I need to contact Balamb Garden as soon as possible. I think my best bet is to get to Timber first. Can you take me to a train station or something?"

"Balamb Garden?" the man repeated, looking confused.

"Yes. I'm a... student there." Squall didn't did not want to go too far into the details. He assumed most people would have a hard time believing that the headmaster of Balamb Garden was not only an 18-year-old kid but also managed to get stranded thousands of miles away from it.

"You're a gardening student?" the man asked, trying to make sense of Squall's words.

Squall stared at him blankly for a few seconds, at a loss for words. He knew Winhill was an isolated town but surely it couldn't be this backwards, could it? He tried to gather his thoughts and continued.

"No, I'm talking about..."

"Sir! What are you doing out there?" called a feminine voice behind Squall. He turned around to look at the woman and when he saw her, his entire body tensed up, his yes widened and his jaw dropped.

"It's good to see you've woken up, but you shouldn't push yourself like that!" the woman continued.

Squall couldn't believe it, but there was no mistaking her. The long, slicked back brown hair, of the exact same shade and texture as his, held with a headband, the icy, almost grey eyes, the roundness of her face and her commanding yet warm expression. Even her plain clothes were reminiscent of the one time he got to see her, through his father's eyes. This was Raine. His mother. Who died giving birth to him. And next to her was a little girl with dark brown hair and equally dark eyes. Ellone, his big sister, now so small she barely reached his knee.

"What?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. Squall took a step back, feeling weak. He tried to hold it together, but this was too much. He fainted as Raine and the man rushed to catch him.

* * *

Author's notes: hope y'all enjoyed the first chapter of this new story! I was very pleasantly surprised with the success of the first fic I published and I had this idea going through my head for a while now and with the Successor Challenge rolling around, it convinced me to finally write it down. It shouldn't be very long overall. I plan to have five chapters tops. Do keep in mind that while I speak English fluently, it isn't my first language, so I apologize for any awkwardly-worded sentence or typo. I will edit the story if I find too many mistakes. Also, for anyone wondering why Rinoa is referred to as "Linoa", it's because that's what she's called in French and I think "Rinoa" sounds terrible.

Anyway. See you soon-ish for the second chapter!

Edit: welp, there really were a lot of typos and awkward phrasing so here's an edited version of the chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

Squall once again woke up, hoping it was just a weird dream caused by the ovelry rich lunch he, Linoa and Ellone had. But no, it wasn't. As he looked around, he recognized the same room he had woken up in earlier. He sat on the edge of the bed and buried his face in his hands.

"Okay. Okay. I am in the past. My mother is alive. The past. Raine is a small child. The past. Mom is alive."

He could barely think. He couldn't deny what he had just seen, and yet it didn't make any sense. Yes, the Time Compression had allowed him and his team to travel through time before, but this was a unique, almost impossible event. Squall was fighting hard to calm down and decide what to do.

"Right, so it looks like my first impression was right, something went wrong during the experiment, but it's even worse than I thought. I wasn't just teleported, I went back to the past. God, I can't believe my mother's he-NO! Focus! I have to make sure I interact with as little as possible. I wouldn't want to cause a time paradox and pop myself out of existence or something. Wait, what if that's already happened? Probably not, actually, or else I wouldn't be here. Or would I? Maybe I'm already gone in the present but I'm safe as long as I'm in the past? Wait, why am I speculating about this when I have no idea how time travel works? All I'm doing is worrying myself unnecessarily instead of looking for a solution."

Squall virulently shook away this nonsense about potentially being in temporal limbo in a universe where he had never existed and got up. The one thing from his musings that actually seemed to be relevant is that he should avoid a time paradox at any cost.

"Linoa managed to user her powers to locate me during the Time Compression. It's not that different, when you think about it. So all I need to do is get out of here, find a safe spot where no-one and nothing will find me and wait it out. Linoa will find me and bring me back to the present eventually."

He made his way towards the stairs, planning to take a peak to see if the way out was clear, when he heard the door creak open. He froze and a couple seconds later, the tiny brown head of baby Ellone poked out from behind the stairs. She gasped in surprise before running back down.

"Raine! The weird man is awake!" she yelled excitedly.

"No no no no no!" Squall screamed internally. "This is bad! If she comes up, she's gonna ask me all sorts of things! What if I screw things up and give myself away? What if I do erase myself from existence?"

Downstairs, Raine heard her adoptive daughter call and before she even had time to react, Ellone was pulling on her sweater to grab her attention.

"Ellone! Be polite! That's no way to talk about someone you don't even know." she said, placing a kettle of hot tea on a platter which was already garnished with cups, spoons, sugar and biscuits.

"Aw, but I thought you wanted to know when he woke up!" Ellone said dejectedly.

"Yes, and it's good that you told me, but calling him 'weird' is rude. Now let's get back up."

Raine climbed up the stairs, being very careful to keep her platter steady, with Ellone following closely behind.

"I hope you like tea!" she said towards the upstairs room, "It's not much but I know it always puts me back in shape whenever I..." she stopped herself as she noticed the man was leaning halfway through the window, which he had slid all the way up. He clumsily pulled his head back in, hitting it against the window frame in the process.

"Ow! Urgh..." he groaned as he turned around, massaging the back of his head.

"Er, is everything alright, sir?" Raine asked.

Squall turned around to face her and stayed silent for a moment, trying to find something to say, but too stunned by the fact that he was face-to-face with his mother. Eventually, he came up with something.

"Um... yes! I figured I could use some fresh air. Wouldn't want to faint again."

"Good point, you do look a little pale. Anyway, I was hoping we could discuss what exactly happened to you over some tea."

Squall kept on a straight face but he was restless inside. This sounded like it could last a while and he didn't want her to stick around. He needed to find a way to let Linoa know where – and when – he was and silly as it sounded, what if drinking that tea somehow caused a chain of events that would drastically change the future?

"Er, I'm sorry but... I am allergic to tea!" Squall said, thinking on his feet.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" replied Raine. "Maybe I could prepare you a cup of a different kind?" Squall was touched by how far she was going out of her way to make him feel at home. She really was as sweet as Ellone and Laguna had told him.

"No! I'm allergic to all of them. Sorry!"

Raine raised an eyebrow at this. It didn't seem likely, but she supposed it was possible. Or maybe he just didn't like tea but was afraid he'd come off as rude if he said so?

"Well, I hope you don't mind if I have some," she said.

"Not at all. Go right ahead."

As Raine poured herself a cup in silence, Squall looked at her, still in disbelief. "I can't believe she's right there, in front of me! I never thought I would get to experience this."

"Would you like some too, Ellone?" Raine asked the little girl.

"Yes, please!" Ellone replied enthusiastically while extending her cup towards Raine. Squall noticed that Ellone had her own cup. A smaller one decorated with pink flowers. Squall smiled slightly at the adorable sight, but quickly turned his head and tried to refocus. "Don't be silly, Squall." he told himself, "You gotta figure out a way to leave. You have to be ready for Linoa to find you at any time. What if she appeared right here, wings spread out and everything? That probably wouldn't do the space-time continuum much good."

"So can you tell me a little bit about yourself? I still don't even know your name. Oh and mine is Raine, by the way" she said, breaking the silence that had fallen for a few seconds. Squall panicked.

"Oh crap," he thought. "The villagers gave me her maiden name. Even if she doesn't find it weird, she'll probably want to know more. And what about my first name? Will she still want to call me that if she associates it with some random stranger who passed out in front of her house? Wait, what if she does like it and me telling her about it is what made her want to name me that? Dammit, I like my name. I don't want it to change. But then again, would I even notice if it did?"

"Are you alright, sir? You're shaking."

Raine's words dragged Squall back to Earth. He realized he'd not only once again stayed silent for far too long, but he was doing a very poor job of hiding how stressed he was. His fingers were twitching on his knees. He tried to regain some composure.

"Yes, I'm alright. Sorry. My name is... Rock Lugria," he finally answered, combining the names of the heroes of two fantasy stories he had read a couple years earlier.

Raine smiled slightly, trying to make Rock more comfortable. "Alright, Rock. So what exactly is this 'Balamb Garden' you were talking about earlier? I don't remember Balamb being famous for its gardens and you don't exactly look like a gardener," she remarked, considering him with a smirk. "Although I suppose if you want to learn about gardening, Winhill is the perfect place."

Squall wondered how nobody here knew about Balamb Garden, when it suddenly hit him. He was in a time when Raine had already adopted Ellone but before she met Laguna, so about 20 years before his present, meaning that Balamb Garden would not be built for another eight years. This was unbelievable to him. Garden was all he'd known for most of his life, so a world where it never existed was a completely alien concept to him.

He then took a quick look at himself. Indeed, it would be hard to believe someone like him would be working with plants. He was wearing a plain grey T-shirt, a dark blue jacket with short sleeves, fingerless leather gloves and some black pants decorated with far more belts than necessary on both legs and some thick stomping boots. Add to this his silver necklace, his earring and his scar and he looked more like a boys band member. "Hang on a moment," Squall thought. "That's perfect!"

"Balamb Garden is the name of a band I'm part of." Squall said in a strong and clear voice, trying to be convincing. "I play guitar."

Ellone gasped. "You're a musician?! Are you famous?"

"Heh, not really. That's probably why you haven't heard of us," Squall joked, or at least attempted to. Ellone started nibbling on a biscuit, which even Squall couldn't deny was cute.

"I'm sure it'll come eventually," Raine added in a kindly tone. "But I do wonder what a young musician from Balamb was doing passed out in Winhill."

Squall tried to remain calm, although he had no idea how long he would be able to keep up this façade. He did hope he could at least gather some information. "Beats me. I was hoping you could tell me."

"I'm afraid I can't be of much help. We just found you this morning, asleep in the middle of the town square. No idea how you got there."

"Oh. So you don't know what happened before that, then?"

"Wait, you don't remember anything from before you woke up?" said Raine, concerned.

"Well, er, no."

Squall was getting agitated again. He had to come up with something quick in case she asked...

"That sounds serious. I thought you might at least remember what you did yesterday. What's the last thing you remember?"

… something exactly like that. He couldn't exactly tell her that the last thing he remembered was being sent back in time from twenty years in the future.

"I was, um..." he stammered while crossing his arms and closing his eyes, pretending to be thinking about what he was doing in order to buy himself some time. What would Rock have been doing? When he opened them again, he saw Raine looking at him expectantly.

"Look, I just don't remember, okay?!" he snapped, acting indignant in the hope that it would get her to drop the subject. Both Raine and Ellone looked at him in shock.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Raine said. "I didn't even think of how tough it must be for you. I shouldn't have pushed you like that."

The look of disappointment on Raine's face made Squall's heart break. Normally, he wouldn't care if he offended someone if it could get him out of an embarrassing discussion, but this was his mother, and he couldn't stand hurting her feelings.

"No, no, it's me. I shouldn't have talked to you like that," Squall replied, looking apologetic. "I mean, you bring me into your house, nurse me back to health, offer me tea – which I am sure I would find delicious if I weren't allergic – and show concern, and I pay you back by acting like a-"

He stopped himself, remembering that little three-year-old Ellone was here. Better watch his language around a child, which he realized was an odd thing to say about his older sister.

"- like a doodah."

Ellone chuckled. Mission accomplished.

"You say silly things, mister!" the little girl remarked.

This helped lighten up the mood a bit and everyone relaxed. Raine finished her cup and placed it back down.

"It's quite alright, Rock. It's understandable that you'd be on edge after what you've been through. Ellone, would you be a sweetheart and bring the tea set down, please?"

"Yes, Raine!" Ellone answered, grabbing the set and hurrying out of the room.

"Carefully!" Raine instructed in vain at her daughter.

Silence once again fell in the room. Squall hoped that Raine would follow Ellone soon and he would get an opportunity to find a way to contact Linoa. Instead, she remained seated and once she was sure Ellone had left the room, she turned her head towards Squall.

"So, Rock, there's something I really need to ask you and I hope you won't take this the wrong way, but do you have drug problems?"

Squall flinched, mouth open and his eyes wide open.

"What?!"

"I mean, look, if that's the case, I'm not here to judge. I just want to help."

Squall was genuinely upset by Raine's suggestion. He took great care of his body and health, so the idea that he'd throw it away like that felt a bit insulting to him.

"No, I don't have any drug problem! Why would you even think that?" Squall inquired.

"Well, you're a bit fidgety, you were passed out in the middle of town, with no memory of what you did last night, you've got mood swings. And, well, I understand that it can be difficult to avoid in show business."

"Well, I assure you, Miss Leonhart, I have never taken drugs!"

Both of them paused for a moment, long enough for Squall to realize what he'd just said.

"How do you know my family name?" Raine questioned.

"Haven't you told me?" Squall answered sheepishly, internally slapping himself for being so careless.

"No, I told you my first name, but not my family name."

"I guess I must have seen it on your mailbox, then," he tried, putting on a forced smile to act casual, which succeeded in doing the exact opposite.

"We don't have one, though. There's just a slot in the front door."

With each failing answer, Squall was getting increasingly mad at himself "Now you've done it, Squall. You've made yourself look even more suspicious." He did come up with one more thing to try.

"Oh, right! Now I remember! That guy I met before passing out mentioned it! He said he was surprised that I left 'Miss Leonhart's house' so soon. Guess he had a point, huh?"

"Oh yeah, that does make sense," Raine replied. Squall wasn't so sure it did but he wasn't about to complain that Raine was satisfied with the answer. Although he wasn't entirely convinced that she bought it. "Hopefully more stuff will come back to you. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable. It's just that I would feel awful if you were in any sort of trouble and I didn't do anything to help. I won't bother you with that any more."

"It's alright. I appreciate the concern but really, I never touched the stuff."

"Good. Well, I'd better go check on Ellone. You never know what kids are up to if you don't watch them constantly," Raine said with a shrug while getting up.

Squall eased up a bit as he saw Raine make her way towards the stairs, looking forward to finally having an opportunity to think about what to do next, although right now, his mind was preoccupied by Raine's comments. Honestly! Him, taking drugs? And even if he did, why did she even care? Why was she worrying herself so much about him? She was acting like she was his... oh.

"Does she somehow subconsciouly know?" Squall began to wonder. "They do always talk about motherly instincts and how moms just know things about their children, even without them letting anything on. Or is that just the way she acts with everybody? She did adopt Ellone when her parents were killed, after all, and then there's the way she took care of Laguna. Or rather, will take care of him."

Squall was so absorbed in his reflections that he didn't even hear the footsteps coming from the stairs.

"Oh! One more thing!" Raine exclaimed, pulling Squall out of his thoughts and running back up the stairs before making her way towards a corner of the room excitedly. Squall couldn't quite see what she was doing. Eventually, she turned around and saw that it was an old acoustic guitar. Raine blew on it and a cloud of dust went flying in the room, making her fan her face to avoid getting some in her eyes. She then walked towards Squall with it.

"I know it's a bit silly, but would you mind playing a little bit for Ellone and I?" Raine asked with a timid smile. "I just love music and it's not every day you get to meet a professional. Sorry, it's probably not tuned."

Squall got nervous again as Raine held the instrument towards her. He didn't know how to play any instrument, and his friends performance to celebrate him being named commander proved that it's not something you can just fake. He took a deep breath and answered.

"I'm sorry, but no."

He saw the look of disappointment in Raine's face and immediately wanted to amend what he just said.

"I mean, it's not that I don't want to, but I can't. I don't know how to play guitar."

Raine's expression turned to confusion.

"Didn't you say you play it in a band?"

Squall had something for this. He just hoped he could be credible.

"Yeah, but the truth is, I only pretend to."

Raine's eyes widened. Squall continued.

"You see, the performers of Balamb Garden are really talented, but the producers decided they weren't charismatic enough to sell, so they hired me and a bunch of other people to pose as the band in front of the audience, but we don't actually know anything about music."

Raine looked at him incredulously.

"I know, I know. It's freaking pathetic." Squall added, looking away from her. "But we all need the money."

"No, I get it," Raine countered, looking genuinely sympathetic. "If I were in your shoes, being given the opportunity to be part of show business on some level and make a living from it, especially at your age, I think I'd take it too."

Squall looked back at her and gave her a surprised smile. Although his story was as fake as Rock's performances, he was pleasantly surprised to see how understanding and tolerant Raine was.

"Right, I really need to go see what Ellone is doing before she breaks something or puts something in my shoes again. You try and get some rest, okay?"

Squall nodded as he watched her put the guitar down and walk down the stairs. It was high time he got to work on going back to the present.

* * *

Hi again, everyone! Currently working on part 3, which isn't going to be an easy one as this is where things are going to get a bit more complicated for Squall. I hope you're enjoying the story so far and that the interaction between Raine and Squall is amusing for you to read as it was for me to write. The story isn't quite how I imagine it at first but I'm happy with the results so far. I'd like to also give big thanks to LexExpress from the Freakin' Awesome Network forums for proofreading my text and giving me tips.

Once again, do not hesitate to give me advice if you have any to spare and if you like this fic and think others would enjoy it as well, please do spread it around. Well, see y'all later for chapter 3!


	3. Chapter 3

From upstairs, Squall heard the front door slam shut and the building fall quiet. He reckoned Raine and Ellone had left. That was an opportunity he had to seize. Walk out, find a discreet spot and focus on Linoa so she could find him. He waited for a couple minutes to make sure they weren't coming back right away, then walked down.

"Raine didn't warn me they were leaving. She must assume I'm sleeping, though it must also mean they won't be gone long. Not long enough for me to reach Linoa. I have to hurry, but not rush."

On the off chance that Ellone was still here, he made sure to walk down slowly and quietly, although the creaky stairway still gave away his presence. "Dammit, I would make a poor spy," he thought. "My area of expertise always was more in combat than stealth."

Thankfully, nobody took notice of him, which confirmed that he was alone. He made his way towards the entrance, reached for the doorknob and the door opened before he even had time to touch it. Raine gasped as she saw the young man dodge backwards to avoid getting hit by the door.

"Ah! Rock! You're up already?" she asked.

"Yes. I wasn't all that sleepy so I figured, you know, I might as well go for a walk. Get some sun," Squall answered.

"Are you sure it is wise, though? I mean, the last time you tried that, you collapsed."

"Well I'm not going to stay in your house forever, am I?"

"Hm. Fair enough," Raine replied with a smirk. "But until we can get a doctor to have a look at you, I insist to accompany you, just in case."

Squall struggled to hide his frustration "Dammit, no!" he told himself. "I have to find a way to get away from her." He put on an unconvincing smile before going back to his mother:

"Thanks for the offer but I'll be alright, mo- ma'am. I feel a lot better already."

Raine shook her head in disapproval.

"Sorry but I really can't let you go on your own. I know it may not seem like a small, quiet village like this would be dangerous, but between the dodgy paths and the monster attacks, it's not safe to walk around alone these days. And that's without taking into account whatever you have."

Squall realized there was no point in arguing. Evidently, stubbornness ran in the family. He would have to find another way to be on his own. Something felt odd, though, in that he was somewhat happy that his plans kept getting foiled.

"Well, this is my one opportunity to be with my mother," he remarked to himself. "It's probably not going to happen again. Might as well enjoy it while it lasts. Wait, what am I thinking? I can't get complacent. This isn't just about me; I can't just walk around a timeline I don't belong in like that."

Either way, he had to keep up appearances for now so he reluctantly accepted Raine's proposal, much to her delight.

As they exited Raine's pub, Squall considered bolting and finding the nearest hiding spot, but he felt that was a bit unsubtle and would only motivtae her more to find him. Besides, there were villagers around who would no doubt tell her immediately where he went, and the whole thing would just draw more attention to himself.

Raine closed the door without bothering to lock it. "So where would you like to go, Rock?"

Squall tried to remember Winhill from the one time he had seen it through Laguna's eyes but he couldn't recall much. That connection didn't last long and Laguna had only been through a small section of the town, giving the area a quick look to make sure there wasn't any monster around, not really stopping anywhere.

"I don't know, I've never been here before. Why don't we just walk around and if there's anything of interest, you can show me?"

"Alright, works for me." Raine agreed.

If nothing else, this would give Squall an opportunity to recon the town. It might come in handy later. They started walking towards the bridge leading downtown while trying to ignore the inquiring looks they got from the locals, when Squall noticed that something was amiss.

"Say, where is your daughter?" he asked.

"Oh, I put her to bed, it's time for her nap," she answered.

"Doesn't she sleep in your house?"

"Not always. A bar isn't exactly the best place for a child's sleep, especially in the evening, when there's a lot of patrons. So I often have her sleep in the neighbouring house. Plus, since I thought you were resting there, I didn't want to disturb you."

Squall smiled slightly at how caring his mother could be, even to someone who, from her point of view, was a complete stranger. Raine continued:

"And besides, I think Ellone just likes it better there."

"Yeah?" asked Squall with surprise.

"Yeah. I'll spare you the details but Ellone isn't my biological daughter, and that house was her parents'. I would have thought for sure she would never have wanted to go there again, but actually she seems to love it. I suppose it does make sense. It's one of the few memories she has of them."

One image of Winhill that had burnt itself in Squall's mind was the bullet holes in the walls of Ellone's home, and how he could feel Laguna's stomach tighten when he glanced at them. And yet, Ellone seemed to pay no mind to them. This was her home and Esthar couldn't take that away from her.

"When you've found a place that makes you feel comfortable, it's hard to let go of it," Squall replied. He could relate.

"True. It's probably why I stay here as well, to the bafflement of all the old people," Raine said with a slight chuckle. "How about you, Rock? Do you have a place like that?"

Squall grimaced, trying to think of ways to bring up his experience with Balamb Garden without talking about something that doesn't exist yet.

"Sort of. But I think in my case, it's more about the people around me. The thing is, I don't get along with most people, but if I have the few that make me feel confident around me, I feel at home anywhere."

"Rock! That's beautiful!" Raine said excitedly. "Are you sure you don't want to start making your own music? You certainly sound like you've got the heart for it."

Much to his own surprise, Squall was starting to find his situation increasingly enjoyable. They kept walking and stopped by a grassy area where wild chocobos were roaming around, with a forest not far fom there. "Linoa would love this," Squall thought, leaning against the dilapidated wooden fence that failed to mark the border between nature and Man's territory.

"Alright, let's continue,"Raine said before she started walking again, not noticing Squall wasn't immediately following.

"This is the chance I've been looking for," Squall reflected. "I could let her go ahead while I quietly walk towards the forest. By the time she realizes I'm not with her any more, I'll have reached the forest and I'll be able to help Linoa find me. Yeah, that's what I'll do."

A moment passed while he stayed immobile against the fence. He sighed and went back on the road.

"I can't just sneak away like a thief. She's been taking such good care of me even though she didn't have to, the least I can do is finish this walk with her," and so he went back on the road and caught up to her.

"Getting lost in the beauty of the countryside?" Raine teased.

"You could say that."

They walked past a flower shop where Raine explained that she often buys seeds from, and that she occasionally sells them her own flowers. Squall had no interest in the subject, and yet he was hanging to every word she said.

Finally, they reached downtown, although Winhill's idea of a downtown wasn't the same as the bustling cities Squall was used to. There were a few shops, marginally more habitations than everywhere else, and a chapel.

"Oh! While we're here, do you mind if I go get some groceries?" Raine asked.

"Not at all," Squall answered. "I think I'll just look around in the meantime."

"Alright, but don't got too far. You never know."

"Of course not," Squall said. "Goodbye, miss Leonhart."

Squall watched her walk inside the store, feeling uneasy as he knew what had to happen next. "No more hesitation. This is where my mother and I go our separate ways." He figured the chapel would be the quietest spot and made his way towards it.

He pushed the wooden door and as he suspected, he found the chapel empty. It was almost noon, everyone was busy with their more down to earth business. He would probably have enough time to do what he had to do. He took a quick glance to make sure there wasn't anyone he didn't miss than set down on a bench, and closed his eyes to focus.

'Linoa... if you can hear me, this is Squall. I'm still not sure how you found me during the time compression, but I hope you can sense me. I am in the past, Li-"

His call was interrupted by the sound of a door creaking open. Squall couldn't believe his bad luck. "Even assuming the people of Winhill are very religious, surely there can't be more than two people a day who visit this chapel, and I am one of them. Who could this be?"

He turned towards the direction of the sound and saw a priest enter from a side door. "Guess I should have seen that coming." From the corner of his eye, Squall caught the priest turn towards him, and so he closed his eyes again to look deep in religious fervour and avoid an uncomfortable discussion.

"Dammit, I can't keep going," Squall thought. "I can't even begin to imagine the public reaction and the tabloid headlines if a priest saw a winged woman suddenly appear in a ball of light in a chapel. Alright. Think, Squall. Where could I go where no-one could find me?"

He thought about trying the forest but in retrospect, he wasn't sure it was such a good idea. There could be monsters in there. And that's assuming the chocobos aren't in a bad mood. "Hang on a second," Squall told himself. "The pub! Of course! Ellone is sleeping in her parents' house, so it's empty right now. And Raine didn't lock the door."

Squall waited for the priest to leave, but once it became obvious that it wasn't going to happen, he got up and walked towards the door.

"It is good to see young people connect with their faith!" The priest said proudly from a small distance.

"Um... yeah," was all Squall could come up with. He hurriedly exited the edifice before the priest could start the waterfall of questions Squall expected to come next.

"Ha! There you are!" said a now familiar voice, startling him. He turned towards the sound to find Raine with a smile on her face bag full of groceries in her arms. "I was beginning to worry when I didn't see you around. I wouldn't have pegged you for the religious type."

"I'm really not, I just like historical buildings." Squall replied. "Want me to help you with that?" he added, nodding towards the bag.

"No thanks," answered Raine. "As strong as you look, you fainted from talking earlier, so I'd rather not risk it. I appreciate the offer, though."

Squall knew he should have been angrier than he was that his plan was foiled, but he didn't manage to get mad when he saw his mother's soothing smile. Laguna and Ellone kept bringing it up and he could see why now. They started to make their way back towards the town square and Raine started another conversation:

"Stop me if I'm wrong, but you're kind of the loner type, aren't you?" asked Raine, trying to be delicate about it.

"I get that a lot," Squall replied.

"Yeah, I couldn't help but notice that you always seem to be looking for excuses to be alone. Not that it's a problem, mind you. It's just so unusual to me. It's kind of fascinating to me," she commented.

"It is?" Squall asked with a slight chuckle.

"Well, yeah. Then again, it's probably because this is such a small village. You gotta keep in mind, everyone knows each-other here and we're often together, none of us really ever does their own thing in their own corner."

Squall didn't reply, so she continued.

"It's odd because you'd think it'd be harder to get some privacy in the big city, where there's more people and it's always so crowded. But at the same time, I guess you can just blend in the crowd and since most people don't know you, it's easier to be on your own. And you know, I love living in a place where the neighbours feel like an extended family but at the same time, I guess it would be kind of nice every once in a while to get away from it all and have a moment to be all..."

She turned her head towards Squall but she couldn't see him in her field of vision. She spun around and realized he wasn't around any more.

"... alone."

Back downtown, Squall had his head down, his back hunched and his hands in his pockets. He hated that this is how he was leaving but he couldn't afford to spend much more time there. He looked around and turned a corner, hoping to find a quite corner where he was sure no-one would see him.

Raine arrived near a shop, panting from having sprinted there. She saw another villager sitting on a bench and turned to him.

"Hey, Phil! Have you seen a young man with a big scar across his face around here?"

"Sure, I did," he answered. "He went through Mendell Street," he explained, pointing towards where Squall had gone. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," replied Raine. "I have no idea what's wrong with him, but it can't be good."

In a dark alley, Squall was getting ready to try and get to Linoa again, when he heard Raine's voice. "Rock! Where are you?".

"Shit. Didn't expect her to catch up so soon," Squall muttered to himself. He quickly ran in a random direction, not realizing that Raine saw him as he passed a street.

"Rock! Wait! I just want to help!" she yelled as she went after him. He was fast though and despite knowing the village well, by the team she reached the bridge leading outside of the village and crossing over a river, he was nowhere to be seen. She called to Rock. In vain. She could do nothing but lean against the guardrail, confused and worried.

Just below, Squall was standing on a walkway, hidden from sight by the bridge itself. He heard Raine's footsteps slowly walk away. "Good," he thought. "I shouldn't be interrupted any more, and finally I can go back to my time." He sat down and once again, closed his eyes and tried to focus.

It wasn't working. He couldn't focus. His mind wasn't clear. Everything about this felt wrong. "What am I doing?" Squall asked himself. "Fate has given me this one chance to be with my mother and what do I do with it? I'm running away from her. Making her worry needlessly. For the love of... she has less than two years left to live, and about a third of it is going to be spent worrying herself about either Ellone, Laguna or both. Is this really what I want my one moment with her to be like?"

He walked towards a flight of stairs to get back to the town's entrance. He looked for her inside the town and found her sitting on a run-down piece of stone wall. She was sobbing and so upset she didn't notice him.

"Rock... Why are you avoiding me like that? Why won't you talk to me? What kind of trouble are you in that you have to run away from me?"

Squall hadn't felt this bad in years.

"Oh, good going, Squall," he reprimanded himself. "Your one time with your mom and you make her cry."

He too was getting teary-eyed as he approached her.

"M-miss Leonhart?" he called sheepishly, startling Raine.

"Rock!" she exclaimed. "W-where have you been? Why were you running away like that? Are people after you? Is that why you won't tell me what happened to you yesterday? Please, if you're in danger or something, you have to tell me. I can help. Trying to face it on your own will just make things worse."

Squall was at a loss for word. Even after the way he had treated her, she wanted nothing more than to make sure he was safe. He wanted to tell her everything right here and then and he was devastated that he couldn't.

"It's not that, but..." he didn't get to finish that sentence, not that he had thought of a way to finish it, as a loud screech came towards them. They both turned their head and saw a large Thrustaevis dive towards them. Squall grabbed Raine and made her dodge out of the way. He saw the creature rise up and prepare a second attack.

The beast lunged towards Squall, who reached for his gunblade, finding nothing but air as he hadn't expected to need his weapon for a simple magic exercise. Fortunately, he always had a few spells stocked just in case and with a motion of the hand, he cast Fire on the flying monster, turning it to ashes.

Squall turned towards his mother and went to grab her arm to help her up, but she jerked it away. Squall stared at her in disbelief as she was getting back up, looking livid.

"Just who the Hell are you, Rock?" she groaned. "You come out of nowhere, you conveniently don't remember where you've been, you keep making up lies about your past, you avoid me and now it turns out you know para-magic, the technique developed by Esthar."

Squall took a step back and rose his hands defensively. "What is she saying?" he asked himself in a panic. "She's not seriously suggesting..."

"The last time Estharian soldiers set foot in the village, they tried to take Ellone and killed her parents," Raine said, in the sort of calm tone that suggests barely contained fury. "Are you one of them? Are you here to spy on us? To help them take Ellone?"

She took deliberately slow steps as she hammered her questions. Squall backed away with each one. He couldn't believe this was happening, that his mother thought he was a threat.

"Wha... I... no!" Squall stammered. "Please, I need you to believe me. I am not with Esthar and I would never want any harm to come to you, Ellone or anyone else here."

Raine, while still boiling inside, started to show some hesitation. Even though everything told her not to trust the young man, something deep within her was begging to believe he was honest.

"I would love to believe you, Rock, but it's getting very difficult. Why should I trust you when, let's not kid ourselves, you can't even give me your real name?" she pressed him.

"Think about it, miss Leonhart!" Squall implored. "If I wanted to take Ellone away, why would I come back to you? Why would I protect you? Why would I stay away from her instead of grabbing her and running away?"

Raine stopped and buried her face into her hands. He was right, and she figured that if he were an Estharian spy, he would have prepared a less clumsy cover. And most importantly, if he were, she would already be dead. And as anger left, sadness returned.

"But then..." Raine said, fighting back the tears. "But then why? Why are you acting that way?"

Squall looked down to the ground, loathing the fact he couldn't just tell her.

"I wish I could tell you," he answered. "But in this case the truth is less believable than any lie."

"Okay," Raine said with a sniff. "Fine, I don't want to force you to tell me your secrets. But there is one thing I need to know. And I want you to answer me honestly."

"I promise I will," Squall replied.

"Are you in danger?"

"No, no I'm not," Squall said without hesitation. "I can't say everything is going as I expected, but I'm not in danger."

"You're not saying that just so I don't get involved, are you?" she asked, planting her steely blue eyes straight into Squall's.

"I swear to you, I am not."

"So do you actually remember what you're doing here?" She continued.

"It's still confusing, even to me. All I can really tell you is that..." he paused to look for the right words. "I am looking for someone."

As he said that, his eyes were drawn to a white feather softly descending from the sky.

"I take it you haven't found them?" Raine asked with genuine concern.

"No, I haven't" Squall answered while letting the feather fall into his hand. "But I'm getting the feeling she found me."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and that means I'm gonna have to leave," Squall said. "To be where I belong, with the people I belong."

"Oh," Raine let out, looking apologetic. "Well in that case, I'm glad all is well that ends well. And I'm sorry about my reaction."

"Don't be," Squall responded. "I wasn't straight with you and I can't blame you for wanting to keep your little girl safe, especially considering what you've told me."

Raine smiled, slightly embarrassed.

"She's not really my little girl, you know," she rectified.

"I'm not sure that's how she sees it," Squall replied, smiling back.

"Look, before I leave, I'd like to do something to thank you for taking care of me, even when I tried to prevent you from doing so, and to apologize for making you worry," he continued. "How about I treat you to dinner tonight? Ellone can come too."

Raine looked back at him with surprise.

"I would love that!" She exclaimed.

"Great, I only ask one favour: I need to be alone for an hour or so." Squall added. "It's important for me to contact the person I'm looking for."

Raine was confused by what he had just said but at this point, she decided not to question it any more.

"Alright, if that helps," she acquiesced. "You can have the living room above the pub for yourself. Just tell me when you're done."

"Thank you. Thank you so much!"

They made their way back to the pub in a peaceful, enjoyable silence. As promised, Raine left him to do whatever it is he had to do, taking the opportunity to go check on Ellone. Squall went up the stairs, sat on the bed he had woken up in, took the feather in his hand and closed his eyes.

"Linoa? Can you hear me?" he called.

"Squall?"

He could barely hear her voice, as if she was far away.

"Squall!" it was getting closer. "I finally found you! I was so worried!"

"Me too, Linoa", Squall replied. "It's so good to hear you again."

"I'm so sorry about all this, Squall," Linoa said. "I'll take you back to our time right away!"

"Actually, I know this this a weird thing to ask, but can it wait?" Squall requested. There was an uncomfortable silence.

"What? Why?" Linoa asked, baffled by what her knight was saying.

"Linoa, do you know where I am? And more relevantly, when I am?" Squall asked her.

"Not really. I just know I sent you back in time," Linoa admitted with shame.

"I am in Winhill, twenty years ago." Squall explained.

"Oh," was all she could say as she was beginning to piece together what was going on.

"Yeah. And I met my mother."

"Oooooh," she went as she got the confirmation of her suspicion.

"So I don't want to just leave like that. I have to do this right." Squall continued. "I know I've already been gone for a long time, and I promise it won't be long."

"Actually, from our point of view, it's only been a couple minutes," Linoa retorted. "Didn't stop us form being worried sick, but I can't prevent you from saying your mother goodbye. Just make sure to hold on to my feather so I can locate you when you're ready."

"Thank you, Linoa," Squall said. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

He opened his eyes, back to his reality. He got up from bed to get ready to give his mother the farewell she deserved.

* * *

Hey, everyone! Chapter 3 is here! Man, those keep getting longer. I'm surprised one of these chapters ended up longer than "Open Hand". I actually considered splitting this one in two or at least ending it earlier, but I couldn't think of a good cut-off point. I do hope it's still an easy read as this one is very dialogue-heavy (and indeed, I have been trying to have less narration. Show, don't tell and all that, even though you can't really "show" in a written format, but you get the idea).

And yeah, it got quite a bit darker all the sudden. I do want this story to be light-hearted, but I also wanted to show that being displaced in a time that isn't your own would be a very difficult endeavour, since you can't tell people what happened for fear of causing a time paradox (or just coming across as a crazy person).

Not gonna lie, I was scrambling to find a way to end this chapter. I hope that's not too obvious and that it still makes for a fluid story (and if it doesn't, don't be afraid to say so and to give me tips on how to do it better, I cannot stress the importance of constructive criticism enough).

Anyway, enough rambling or these notes will get as long as the story itself, so see you soon for the fourth and final chapter of this fic. It should be a short one as I mostly view as an epilogue, and I hope it makes for a satisfying conclusion. Oh and, expect this chapter to updated once I fix typos and awkward phrasing.


	4. Chapter 4

Raine, Ellone and Squall walked out of the lively restaurant as the sun was setting, casting a gorgeous pink and orange light across the sky. Squall and Raine were both a bit light-headed from their many farewell drinks, although Ellone attributed their mood to them just having fun.

"Haa, lovely evening, isn't it?" Raine commented.

"Yeah, it was a nice note to end on," Squall agreed.

Squall was surprised by how well Raine could hold her liquor, although he supposed that a self-respecting pub owner should be able to handle a few drinks. They were enjoying the fresh air on their way back home, with Ellone happily swinging her mother's hand while singing. Squall was observing the scene, lost in thoughts and not quite sure if the warmth he was feeling was from the alcohol or their cheerfulness.

"Family life. Seems nice. I didn't grow up with it, but maybe I could get used to it with Linoa. Well, eventually. There's no rush."

They arrived at Ellone's parents' house. Squall couldn't help but stare at the bullet holes inside the wall before they all went upstairs. It wad so surreal to him to actually be here, and the feeling didn't go away as he watched his mother tuck his big sister to bed from the doorway.

"Goodnight, sweetie," Raine said softly to Ellone.

"Goodnight, Raine!" the little girl replied. "And goodnight, Rock!"

Squall looked up as he heard his made-up name.

"Goodnight, Ellone," he said. "And goodbye."

Ellone sat up, looking both surprised and disappointed.

"You're leaving already?" she asked.

"Yeah, sorry," he answered. "I would love to stay longer, but I've got to go home."

"Aww. Well, goodbye, then," she concluded before lying down.

Raine and Squall went back down without a word and left the house. Once they reached Raine's pub, Squall turned to Raine, his heart heavy.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye," Squall said, struggling not to get choked up.

"Already? I thought you might at least have stayed the night," Raine responded.

"Sorry, but no," he declined. "Like I said, I have to meet the person I was looking for. I'm already late."

"Alright. In that case, goodbye, Rock. I wish I could know your real name, but I'm guessing if it were to happen, you would have already told me."

Squall nodded with a guilty look on his face.

"Look, just... take care of yourself, okay?" Raine continued. "I don't know what's going on with you but either way, it's a crazy and dangerous world out there."

She offered a handshake. Squall took off his glove before accepting it, while Rained resumed talking.

"And if you're in the area in the future, feel free to come visit us. You're always welcome here" she said with a large and genuine smile. Squall couldn't hold back any more and took her in his arms, shaking as he talked to her.

"Thank you, Raine. For everything you've done for me."

Raine was stunned. He had been so distant and secret up until now, she didn't know where this sudden outburst came from, especially since she felt she hadn't done all that much. If anything, she felt bad that she was letting him go without being sure he was okay, both physically and mentally. And were those tears she could feel dropping on her shoulder?

"I'm going to miss you," the young man went on.

Raine still had no idea where that came from, but she got the sense that he needed it, and hugged him back. Once Squall calmed down, he loosened his grasp on her and held her by the shoulders, looking right in her eyes.

"You take care of yourself too," Squall advised her.

"Rock, are you sure everything is alright?" she asked.

"Yeah. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine," he said with a smile that let Raine know he meant it.

"Alright. In that case, goodbye. Have a safe trip!" Raine said.

"Goodbye," Squall said back.

Squall walked away and Raine entered her home. Now that he was alone at last, all he needed was a quiet place, so he figured he might finally give the chocobos a visit. It's not like they could tell anyone about his secret.

Once he reached the meadow, far from any house and overly curious eye, he pulled out the feather Linoa sent him. He expected it to be in poor shape after spending the evening in his pocket but to his surprised, it was as beautiful as when it first reached him. He raised it to his face and closed his eyes.

"I'm ready, Linoa."

Squall felt a sudden gust of wind and everything around him turned into shapeless lights. He raised his arms defensively in surprise and as quickly as they came, the wind and the lights were gone. Before he had time to realize what happened, something bumped into him and started squeezing him.

"Oh Squall! I was so worried!"

Squall regained his composure and realized that the thing clutching him was Linoa. He looked around him and saw that he was back in the Estharian palace, sitting in the very same bed his journey started in.

"Me too! I got really scared for a moment!" said Ellone, joining in on the hug. Things wrre getting a bit overwhelming for Squall.

"Girls... please. Can I have some breathing room?" he let out.

They released their grasp but they stayed as close to him as they could get away with, anxiously waiting for him to say something.

"So what exactly happened?" he asked. The girls looked at each other, not sure where to begin. Ellone decided to start.

"Well, everything started as planned, I took Linoa inside your consciousness just a few minutes ago, when we were making our way here. You know, just to make her comfortable with time travel."

"Then, to see if I could change something in the past, I just made you look at that painting of Winhill in the corridor," Linoa continued.

"It was so exciting! It was the first time I got someone to influence the past and not just observe it! And to see Winhill through your eyes, it made me so nostalgic."

"So we decided to go a bit further and check if I could take you back in time. Just a bit."

"Yeah. We figured that since my powers already took us back, it would make it easier for Linoa to use hers."

"But it worked a bit too well. I lost control and we started going back in time way further than I intended. I eventually managed to bring us back, but you were nowhere to be found."

Squall was listening intently to all this, trying to make sense of it all. He thought he'd seen everything through his adventures but magic never stopped stupefying him. He tried to roll with it but there was still one question that needed to be answered.

"So how did I end up in Winhill, then? How would time travel affect that?"

"I have a theory," Ellone announced. "Remember how when the Time Compression ended, you all ended up at the orphanage?"

"Yeah," Squall replied.

"You were sent there because that was a place that was dear to you as a group, and your memories guided the warp back to our timeline as the compression was being undone."

"Uh huh."

"Well, the same thing happened here. While Linoa was taking us back in time, my memories guided the travel to Winhill. But since we were in your consciousness, you were the only one physically there, and so you're the only one who was transported, while we made it back to our time."

Squall was taking this all in while looking in the distance, mouth open, trying to say something but not finding the words. His attention went to Linoa when she took his hand and looked at him a sad expression.

"I'm sorry, Squall. I am so, so sorry."

"Don't be, Linoa," Squall said with a reassuring smile. "Everything worked out in the end, didn't it?"

"No!" she objected. "I put you in serious danger because I was careless. It must have been terrifying for you! All alone, years in the past, thousands of miles away."

"Well, it's true that it was rather... distressing at first. But I was okay. I never doubted that you'd be able to bring me back."

He looked at her, hoping to see her face light up.

"I don't know," she contested."I wasn't able to keep control of my time powers. Maybe I should avoid messing with time altogether."

"Linoa, don't say that," Squall implored. "After all, if you couldn't control them, you wouldn't have been able to bring me back."

Linoa sighed.

"Yeah, but I only ever manage to pull this kind of stuff off when I'm panicked. I'd like to be able to do it without being in a desperate situation."

"And that's why you should keep training. You'll figure it out eventually."

"Squall's right, you know," Ellone added. "Your powers are going to be with you for your entire life. If you're so afraid of them, the only way to overcome that fear is to master them."

Linoa's head rose up a bit but she still looked hesitant.

"But it's so dangerous!" the sorceress added. "What if I end up hurting somebody?"

"It will only be dangerous as long as you don't understand your abilities. And I for one would feel privileged to help a sorceress hone her skills."

Squall nodded in approval, then he placed his hand on Linoa's shoulder.

"And as far as I'm concerned, I wouldn't have chosen to become your knight if I were afraid of your powers."

Linoa started to smile again.

"Thank you, both of you."

"And besides," Squall continued, "you gave me an opportunity I never thought I'd have."

Ellone's eyes lit up.

"Oh, right! Linoa said you met Raine. I can't believe that actually happened!" she said excitedly. "How did it go? It happened so long ago, I don't remember it all that well."

"Right, so when I woke up..." Squall started, before interrupting himself. "Wait, you remember it?"

"Yeah! It's so weird. I know I didn't have that memory ten minutes ago, and I know I didn't live it myself, but now I remember it happening."

"Well, it's a long story. How about we go relax at a nice café or something and I'll tell you all about it?"

The girls agreed enthusiastically and the three of them went on their way to enjoy some quality time, ready to take on whatever the future, or the past, could throw at them, but mostly just making the most of the present.

20 years earlier, Raine was climbing the stairs to her room, still wondering what exactly was the deal with the young man who took her through a roller-coaster of emotions. She decided to get her mind off him with some light reading. She picked up the book on her nightstand, which is when she noticed a piece of paper on her bed. More specifically, a letter.

"Miss Leonhart. Before we go tonight, and I say you farewell, I wanted to write you this letter to thank you. You probably won't realize it or understand why, and I can't really explain it, but you made me incredibly happy. Let's just say that sometimes, just being there is the best gift we can give others. So thanks for being there. And for rescuing me, some weird guy who showed up passed out in your village. I actually wasn't sure I should write you this letter, maybe I should have just let you shrug it off and forget about me, but you deserve to know how much good you're doing. And don't worry about me. I guarantee you, I'll be alright.

Rock"

Raine smiled. She knew this whole thing was weird, and yet she couldn't help but feel joy from what she read. She set it on the nightstand before getting her book and going to sit on her couch.

"Rock, wherever you are, there's something wrong with you. And I hope you never change."

THE END.

* * *

Hello, everyone! Welcome to the fourth and final chapter. I realize this ending is cheesy as Hell, but that's the way I like things to end. And I hope you do to, even though it's really more of an epilogue than an ending.

I hope the explanation for the time travel makes sense to you guys. I tried to make sure it works with the mechanics of it as shown in the game. The idea of Ellone remembering it but knowing she didn't actually experience it was a good way to have it have some influence on the present without affecting the game's universe much.

This is also the first multi-chapter story I remember completing (fan work or otherwise) so I'm proud that I pulled it off and thank you to everyone who's read it. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I hope you had as much fun reading this story as I had writing it. Apologies for any typo or clumsy phrasing, I'm having someone proofread it so expect an updated version to come. And if you think you've got some advice to help me improve, do not hesitate to share it. Some stuff only seems obvious in retrospect.

So in anyway, see y'all next time. I have plenty of ideas and I don't know where to start!


End file.
